Of Blood and Vampires
by The Lost Chapters
Summary: Elena wants to find her mother, she just isn't sure how to do that yet. Damon wants to find out what Elena's up to. The summary bites, i know. Rated T for later chapters just to be safe. Some possible violence. Well, they are vampires after all.
1. Chapter 1: Desperate

**For my best friend. A Damon fan...**

**Sorry for any spelling errors, too lazy to fix them right now. (which is suprising for me, I know) This story might be a little bit slow, but just hang on please. If all goes as planned this story will be fantastic.**

Elena writing in her journal....

_Sometimes I feel like everything is falling apart, and the pieces are flying in so many directions that my hopes of fixing things are completely destroyed. Today is one of those days. I'm just not sure what to do anymore, not sure what the _right _thing to do is. Ever since I found out who my birth mother is, i have wanted to find her. I don't even know why really, I guess it's just my way of hoping that maybe she diddn't abandon me. Maybe, just maybe, there was a reason behind it. Whatever my reason is, I know my mother is alive, out there somewhere. I have to find her, whatever this invisable force is that's telling me to go find her, is the same force that is telling me that she is alive. I will find her, weather she really wants me to or not._

Elena closed her journal with a sigh and turned over to lay it on her nightstand. She looked at her bedroom window as the day's first rays of sunshine gave comforting glow to her room. At least, it would have been comforting any other day. But there were just too many things going on right now for Elena to find much comfort in anything.

With one last glance around her bedroom, Elena got out of bed and headed for the shower. She couldn't exactly accomplish anything lying in bed. Her mind had been on overload all night, trying to figure out a way to get as much information as possible about her mother. She still hadn't figured out how to do it.

After she had gotten dressed, she went down the stairs to get a cup of coffee. She noticed that neither Jeremy or Jenna were up yet, but that was to be expected on a Saturday morning. She went back upstairs to continue her pondering on what she was going to do to find her mother. She headed straight for her window seat where she sat, looking out of the window, thinking.

She could feel his presence even before he was right behind her, she has always been able to feel his presence when he's near. But that seemes to be even more true lately, for some reason unknownst to her. She knew he was there, but she decided to wait until the last moment to let him know she knew.

"You know, you're not very sneaky for a vampire. Perhaps your losing your touch." she said without turning to look at him, only staring intently ahead.

"Now, Elena, do you really think thats possible? I'm probably just low on blood, this town is really beginning to run out of willing donars. Maybe you would be willing to open a vein? For a good cause, of course."

Now she turned around, crossing her legs and staring right into the impossibly handsome face of Damon Salvatore. "Hmmm....as appealing as that sounds..." she replied sarcastically, shaking her head slightly. "Since when do you have a problem finding a willing victim?"

"Sure, I could go feed off of some random person on the street, but I have a feeling that you would be much more fun," he replied with a smirk covering his face as his eyes bored holes into Elena.

"Well, Damon, this has all been very touching, but why are you here?" she spoke with a hint of amusement and a tilt of her head.

"I need a reason come visit you other than just wanting your company?" Then, seeing the look she gave him, said, "I just came by to see how you were, after breaking up with Stefan." As he said this the smirk dropped from his face, and yet it still held some amount of joking and seriousness. Just enough on each side to make you wonder weather he really meant it or not.

She had broken up with Stefan the other day because she just couldn't deal with him and finding her mother at the same time. It was just too much. She looked back up at Damon with no expression on her face and said, "I'm fine. But thank you for your....concern."

He squinted his eyes and looked at her intently, "No, you don't seem very upset. I find that a little hard to believe considering how lovey dovey you and my brother were a few weeks ago. Don't get me wrong, I found it positively sickening, but what brought on this change of heart?"

"Nothing brought it on. I just felt that I needed a break from Stefan so that I could focus on the other aspects of my life."

He raised his brow at her in a highly disbelieveing glance, "Well, as much as I would love to stick around and get the actual answer out of you, I have to go. You have company, and, considering who it is, I believe I would really rather take my leave. But, don't think this discussion is over," and with that, he vanished from view.

Elena sat, in stunned silence, hating how he always managed to get the last word. She had gotten over being mad at him for turning her mother. It wasn't like he did it to hurt her, he diddn't even know she existed then. So, she had decided to forgive him. Rremembering his comment about company, she got up and walked downstairs to find out who it was.

* * *

Elena walked over to the front door and opened it to reveal Caroline standing with her hand poised to knock.

"Spooky, Elena," she said as she stepped inside while unwinding the scarf from her neck.

"Why are you here, Caroline?" Elena asked, getting right to the point.

"My was being difficult last night, and, rather than let her ruin my Saturday, I decided to get out of the house. Then, when I realized that there's not very many places to go on a Saturday morning, I came here," she replied with a shrug.

Elena closed the door and motioned for Caroline to follow her upstairs. When they got in her bedroom Caroline sat down on Elena's bed and put her back against the headboard. Elena went back to her window seat, but, rather than looking out of the window, she faced her room. Caroline, of course, started talking, not caring weather Elena wanted to hear it or not.

"I mean, she's never at home, and it's not like she really cares what I do, so I don't see why she feels the need to ruin my life," Caroline said, jumping right to the middle of the conversatin, as usual.

Elena put her feet up on the seat and turned her head to face Caroline, figuring there was no use in responding just yet. She would let her get it all out of her system first and then she would comment.

"I was at a party, and I wasn't even drinking! But do you think she cares? No! Gosh, you would think I was caught at a drug deal or something. I was with people I know, just trying to have fun. A concept that, I can understand, is difficult for her to grasp. She does this to me all the time, I just wish I could find a way to get her back. Even if she diddn't find out about it, at least I would know that I got some form of rebellious activity by her."

By the time Caroline had finished her rant, Elena had made her way across the room and was now sitting cross legged on the bed infront of Caroline. Her mind was once again on overload at the possibilities this dispute between Caroline and her mom could open.

With a sympathetic lift to her mouth, Elena looked at Caroline and said, "This is probably going to sound a bit selfish, but I'm desperate. I know how you can get back at your mom."

* * *

"So, wait, you mean your really adopted? Wow, I thought my mother daughter relationship was wierd."

Elena had just told Caroline everything, well, almost everything, she knew about her adoption. If she was going to spill her secerets to anyone, she never thought that person would be Caroine, but, like she said, she was desperate.

"Yeah, well I'm a little stunned about the whole thing myself. Liste, Caroline, please don't tell anyone else about this. Jeremy doesn't know anything about it, and I would really like to keep it that way for awhile," Elena said.

"Of course," Caroline responded with a smile and shrug of her shoulders. "Honestly I'm just shocked your revealing this much personal information. Isn't it usually Bonnie that you tell all of your secrets to?"

"You know why I can't talk to Bonnie right now, she has enough going on without my drama."

"Okay, but how is telling me this going to help me rebel against my mom?" Caroline asked, wanting to get back to the most important topic, her.

"Well, I don't have very much information about my mother, and I would just like to know...more than I do," Elena figured it best to leave out her wanting to go find her mom, lest Caroline want to tag along. "Your mom would have the key to the poliece station. If you could get the key to me, I could go in the middle of the night and see what information I could find on her. Please, Caroline, it would be a major help and a way to rebel against your mom."

Caroline bit her bottom lip in thought, then she nodded her head once and said, "Okay, I'll do it."

"Excellent," Elena responded with a smile.

* * *

Elena was walking Caroline to the front door a while later, it was probably 4pm at this point. Jeremy and Jenna had been up for awhile, walking around the house.

"My mom will probably be home early tonight, keeping me out of trouble," Caroline said as they stepped outside of the house. "I will take the key from her room when she goes to sleep and then sneak out and get it to you. Just make sure you have it back to me before morning."

"Absolutely. I'll see you later Caroline," Elena said turning to go back inside. "Oh, and Caroline, thank you," she said, smiling.

"No problem," Caroline responded.

WIth a few hours left to kill, Elena headed back inside to plan. She had finally found her opening, she was one step closer to finding her mother.

**Review? If I were the type of person to beg, then I would, but I'm not, so I won't. (sorry if that didn't make any sense) I need your thoughts, so press that little button and give them to me. I promise the process is not as painful as it sounds :)**


	2. Chapter 2:Locks, Keys, and Passwords

**Wow. I do believe this is the fastest I have updated a story.... I promise it will start speeding up soon. **

Elena waited until Jenna and Jeremy had gone to sleep then she snuck down the stairs and slipped out of the front door, locking it behind her. She had decided to walk to town, figuring it would make less noise and it wasn't that far anyway. When she noticed Caroline waiting up ahead she quickend her pace, stopping in front of her. Caroline smiled and took the key out of her pocket and handed it to Elena.

"I figured you might need the password to get on one of the computers so I took that from her office too. Good luck. Remember to bring the key back to me when your done," she said as Elena took the key.

"I will," Elena said as she turned and walked in the direction of the station.

The town was completely deserted. It must have been 1am at this point and there was no one in sight other than caroline's retreating figure. Still, Elena couldn't help but wish for this to be over with. The last thing she needed right now was to be caught for breaking into the Mystic Falls Police Station. Elena walked up to the door of the station, unlocked it, and stepped inside. This part of her plan proved to be one she couldnt completely plan out since she really wasn't sure what she would find.

She went over to a computer and logged on using the password Caroline had given her with the key. She did a search for past residents in Mystic Falls using her mothers name. She looked through file after file and continued searching for at least an hour. Each one said the same thing as the last, she had died. It was getting to the point when she thought she would have to just give up and find another way before the town started waking up. She looked at the screen and was getting ready to close out when she noticed a search result on the page that had skipped her attention before. She clicked on it, though she wasnt really sure why. It was probably just going to be another dead end like the rest of them. But the invisible force pulling her toward her mother told her it was more than that.

She looked at the file and knew she had found the best lead she would get, an address. The last name was different, but that was to be expected she supposed. The address read, ironically, for Atlanta GA. She shook her head and looked around the desk for paper and a pen to copy the address on. She spotted a pad of paper under a pile of books on the side of the desk. She reached over and pulled it and when she did she accidentally sent three of the books to the floor. She quickly copied down the address and reached to pick up the books and place them on the desk. She exited out of the screen on the computer and was getting ready to leave when she felt someone's breath right by her ear.

"Well, well, well. You know Elena, I never really figured you as the type of girl to break into a police station in the middle of the night. You are just full of surprises," Damon said with .

With a small sigh of relief at the recognition of the voice, Elena gave her own witty remark, "Are you, like, stalking me now or something?"

"Now, as fun as that idea sounds," Damon said without sarcasm, "I was just outside grabbing a _bite. _Your comment this morning really hurt so I decided to be better prepared for the next time we met and, judging by your startled expression, it seems to have worked. Although I was interrupted from my meal when i heard a sound in here, which seemed rather odd, wouldnt you agree? Since its nearly 3 in the morning. I figured it was in the best interest of the towns safety that I came to check it out."

"Well, what a wonderful story of your act of heroism. But, since when do you care about the safety of the town?" Elena said with a tilt of her head as she stood up in front of Damon and crossed her arms in front of her.

"A do-gooder like me? How could you ask a question like that?" Damon responded with sarcasm seeping into his voice, "Obviously it's a good thing that I care so much about the town. What with dangerous people like you wandering around the town at three a.m. and breaking into poliece stations."

"Ahh yes Damon, what would the town be without you looking out for them...speaking of all that you do for the people of the town, I hope you helped the poor girl's wound's close before you came to the defense of the police station. It would be a shame if, after all of your good deeds, you let the girl bleed to death in an ally," Elena smiled at him with a devious glint in her eye.

"Of course I closed the wounds, Elena, and erased her memory so as not to give the poor soul nightmares. What you must think of me to make such suggestions. Though, in your defense, I suppose you couldn't really know how I treat my...companions. Which is truly a shame. We can fix that any time you want to," he smiled back in amusement.

"Again, I think I'll pass," she responded as she walked by him toward the door.

Damon was suddenly right behind her whispering in her ear, "Thats too bad. You're missing out."

Elena stopped and closed her eyes while taking a deep breath to recollect herself. Before she had the chance to get another word out of her mouth both of their heads snapped over to the door. Someone was unlocking it.

Damon grabbed Elena by the waist and pulled her over into a corner where they would be less noticeable to whoever was getting ready to walk through the door. Elena looked over to the desk to make sure everything was as she had left it, thinking they could just sneak out when the person had their back turned. She noticed that, in her hurry, she had not shut the computer all the way down, just logged off. She also noticed that she had left her pocket book sitting on the desk. The computer might have been able to go unnoticed, but the pocket book definately wouldn't. She blamed Damon, he had distracted her with their witty banter...and pretty eyes...and annoyingly georgous smirk...woah! Where had these thoughts come from? This is not the time, Elena thought. For these thoughts, or for this inner debate she had just discovered.

She drew Damon's attention over to the desk where her pocket book sat. Damon gave a small exasperated sigh and returned his attention to the door that was now being opened. Who came to work this early anyway? Sure, most towns' poliece stations have someone there all the time but this was Mystic Falls. Nothing major ever really happend here. Well, at least not unless you had been sucked into the world of the vampires.

The door opened and in walked a very tired looking police officer, which led Elena back to wondering why he was here so early. Damon, never taking his eyes off of the man, slowly, yet with the quick gracefullness that was sitll fathomless to Elena, he moved out of the dark corner and approached the man. He was very tired looking so he diddn't notice Damon approaching until he was right in front of him. The man had a moment where he looked startled, but it diddn't last long. Damon looked into the man's eyes and said, "We were never here. After we leave this building you won't remember ever seeing us here."

The man nodded his head and Elena took this oppertunity to set the desk back to the way it was. When she turned and started walking to the door Damon was holding it open and the police officer was walking to his desk. Elena and Damon stepped outside and started walking down the sidewalk.

"Well, that was interesting," Elena said.

"Yeah, nothing like a little excitement at 3 a.m. to get your _blood flowing,_" the last was whispered into Elena's ear, sending a chill through her. This new development between her and Damon was really odd and she would have to think about it some more, later. Much later.

Damon took Elena's thinking as a chance to ask, "So what _were _you doing here at this early hour of the morning?" This question effectively shook Elena from her thoughts.

"Oh, I was. . . researching. It's not important," with this she looked down at her phone to check the time. "I really need to hurry home before the whole town wakes up."

"What, no thank you for the help Damon? I did keep that man from finding out you were in there you know," Damon responded, faking offense.

"Well, if you hadn't shown up to 'help the town' then I would have been out of there well before that man came in and I wouldn't have been distracted in the first place." She realized her mistake almost as soon as she said it. The wicked glint in Damon's eyes also helped to point it out.

"I'm sorry Elena, I didn't realize that my presence made you so. . .flustered. But, I suppose, you're not really to blame for that. I mean, it is _me_ after all," he said.

Elena shook her head, "Well, at least we don't ever have to worry about you losing confidence in yourself."

"Of course not. What an absurd thought," he said with a smirk. "So you admit that my presence is what distracted you."

"Damon, as much as I would love to stand her and bicker with you, I really do need to get home," Elena responded, avoiding the question.

"Okay. But that doesn't mean that were through discussing this and, if I remember correctly, we also have a conversation to finish the last time we talked."

"Can't wait," she replied sarcastically.

"Again, who can blame you," he winked and then disappeared from sight. Elena just shook her head and started walking to Caroline's house.

* * *

As Elena approached Caroline's bedroom window she could see Caroline pacing inside. Elena just shook her head before lightly tapping on the window. Caroline's head snapped up to the sound and she quickly walked over to the window and opend it.

"It's about time. I didn't expect you to be out all night or I might have considered more carefully before giving you the key."

"What happend to wanting a rebellion against your mother?" Elena asked her with a hint of amusement at Caroline's stress.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at Elena and said, "I wasn't planning on getting caught with this particular plan. Do you have any idea the amount of trouble I would be in if she found out? Whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm just glad you got the key back in time. I have to return it to her room before she wakes up, I'll see you later Elena," with this she closed the window and walked over to her bedroom door.

Elena began the walk home, moving at a slightly faster pace than she had the first time. She wanted to make sure that she got home before Jeremy and Jenna had any chance of rising and before the rest of the town came out of their houses and wondered what she was doing walking the streets at four in the morning.

While on her way home Elena started thinking about the address she had gathered from the station. She wondered when the best time to leave would be. Then she thought, why not leave now? She thought about this idea and the more she thought about it the more she liked it. The force that was pulling her toward her mother was growing stronger and stronger. She would leave as soon as she got home and packed her bags. She would leave a note for Jenna telling her not to worry. The entire plan completely laid itself out in Elena's mind with each passing second.

She had almost reached home when a new thought came to her mind. Ever since she had found out about her mother she had always been able to feel the link between she and her mother, the force pulling them together. But now she noticed a new link, one that she had been feeling for awhile but she was afraid to admit to. When she followed that link to it's end she found Damon's georgously smirking face. The thought made her smile and let out a small laugh. She was in for an adventure.

**Reviews are loved!!!!!!!!! Please? Yep thats about all of the begging you're going to get out of me. I really want to know what everyone thinks. It may inspire me to write chapter 3 sooner! *wink wink* Oh, and sorry for the slight cliff hanger...couldn't help myself :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Little Voices

**Oh, I forgot to put a disclaimer in at the beginning so here it is: I don't own Vampire Diaries or it's characters. Okay, so I hope you like this chapter :) Thank you to the ones who are reviewing and to those who favorited/alerted my story. I'm glad you like it and, Judity74, I will do my best to keep updating quickly. Also, thank you for the comment, Sortoflovely, about my writing DE well. :) Hope I can continue that!**

* * *

Elena had been driving for quite awhile before anyone tried to call her to see where she was. She had left a note for Jenna telling her not to worry, she was fine, she had to find her mother, she would be back in a few days tops. She knew that wouldn't stop her aunt from worrying, much less from calling, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Jenna called about when Elena had expected her to. So she had time to prepare herself for the call. It was the usual 'what were you thinking?', 'I want you home this instant', 'how could you take off like that without telling me?' speach that lasted so long Elena thought the battery in her phone would go dead before she even got there. The conversation ended with a very angry 'fine'.

Elena knew Jenna wouldn't stop worring until Elena was back at home, and then she would be in major trouble. But, right at this moment, she diddn't care all that much. The second call was also one she had been expecting, even though she hadn't realized she had been expecting it until it happend. But, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew. As soon as her phone started ringing she glanced at the caller ID and answered it.

"Hello," she said.

"I know you were wanting to avoid finishing our conversations, but don't you think this is a little extreme? I mean, I would think that after last night, you would be looking forward to being back in my presence again," she could practically hear the smirk over the phone. "However, I can't seem to find you anywhere this morning, which is really a shame, for you. Since I assume you're not going to this extreme just to avoid me, I have to believe you're disappearence has something to do with what you were researching last night. Am I right?"

Elena let out a sigh of exasperation. She hated how he wouldn't give up and how he seemed to understand her so much better than anyone else but, when she thought about it, these were the same things that made her lo..._No! This is not happening. I am just really, really tired and I am obviously not thinking straight._ She told herself sternly. She nodded her head and seemed to regather her confidence before she spoke.

"Well, I'm not really sure why you want to know," _yes, you do, _a small voice in the back of her mind thought, a voice which she mentally buried. "But...yes, you're right. I am going to be out of town for a little while. A few days tops. Guess you will have to find someone else to argue with while I'm gone."

There was a momentary silence on the other end of the phone. Not very long, but still, for Damon it was unusual.

"Out of town? Elena, what were you researching?" he said, all teasing leaving his voice.

"I already told you, it's not important," she said equally serious.

"If it wasn't something important, you wouldn't have left town. Where are you Elena?" Damon asked, still with a serious tone, but also with another emotion mixed in. Could it be...worry? _No, _Elena thought, _that's not possible._

"I'm not really sure," she said. Which wasn't technically a lie, she wasn't completely sure where she was, she just knew she was close.

"Elena-," Damon started, but Elena cut him off. "Damon, look I really appreciate the concern, odd as it is, but I really have to go now. I'll be home soon. Just look at this as an oppertunity to think up all sorts of new arguments and innapropriate comments for when I get back," Elena said, sarcastically.

"Oh, don't think I won't. You and I will have _many things _to discuss when you get home," Damon said, and just the way he said it sent a chill through Elena. He seemed to be back to his joking self, though his voice maintained a barely noticable edge. One that probably only Elena could notice. "Also, you should really watch the sarcasm. You're getting as bad as me," she could hear the smile in his voice at this comment.

"I'll work on that," she murmured into the phone. "Bye, Damon"

"I'll see you soon Elena," his voice held a certain promise to it while still maintaining it's light tone. As she closed her phone she really hoped what he said was true. A hope that, until a couple of days ago, she never would have thought she would have. She also hoped this was true because she was getting an odd feeling in her gut, something telling her, warning her, that things are about to get very dangerous. Which, considering the day-to-day lifestyle she already leads, a feeling like that is never good.

* * *

_Back In Mystic Falls_

Damon was angry as he hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket. Of course, anger wasn't exactly a new emotion for Damon. Now, Damon was heading for the police station. He needed to check the history on the computer Elena was at. He had to figure out what she's up to. He would compel all of the officers that were in there which, it bein Mystic Falls, was not many. Then, he would be able to hear when someone was approaching the station door and he could either compel them too, or hide. No one would even know he was there.

This was proven true when Damon walked in the door to about 4 startled looking police officers. Damon had all of them compeled within a minute, then he walked over to the computer Elena had been on and sat down. Thankfully, it had already been logged onto so he didn't need to exert the extra personal effort to get it out of one of the officers. Damon went to the history and looked at the searches made around the time Elena had been here. What he found were repeat scans on Isobel Pierce. _Oh no, _Damon thought. The odd thing was that he really should known that this is what she's been up to. Elena had been obsessed with finding information on her mother ever since she found out she existed.

Damon opend the last search Elena had looked at and found an address. He laughed to himself when he saw that the address read, Atlanta GA. Then he looked at the address again to make sure he had it in his mind before closing out of the page and walking out of the station.

_What am I going to do? _Damon thought. He could only imagine all of the different ways she would find to get into trouble, and, of course, he was going to have to go save her. It wasn't like anyone else could do it, most of her friends were human and they would only cause Elena more trouble if they showed up, that is if they knew about vampires in the first place. Stefan would probably go save her if he knew, but Damon didn't trust him with Elena's life. At least, not as much as he trusted himself. Especially with the way Stefan had been acting all heart broken and depressing lately. It was really pathetic, but, if he had been the one to get dumped by Elena, he would probably be acting the sa..._Woah, okay, this has got to stop, _Damon told himself. _Why do I even care what happens to her? Why should I go to so much effort to save a human? _Damon asked himself.

_Because you are connected to Elena, you have feelings for her,_ a small voice in the back of Damon's mind told him. A voice which Damon realized he had been hearing for a long time, ever since he met Elena, he had just been ignoring it. He tried, now, to do just that. _There's no way I have feelings for Elena. I don't feel. Of course I have to save Elena, but only because the look on Stefan's face when he finds out will be priceless, _Damon thought with a smile.

Damon was still smiling as he reached the boarding house and zoomed upstairs to pack a few things before taking off after Elena. As he got into his car and started driving he started thinking about Elena, he just hoped that when he found her, he would still be able to save her. A grim smile spread over his face with this thought, and he unconsciously pressed his foot harder on the gas. As he sped down the road toward the address he had now memorized, he could hear the murmurings of the small voice from earlier in the back of his mind. The voice was still small, but, it seemed that with the recent events it had gotten stronger and more noticable than before.

* * *

_Elena_

As Elena pulled up to the house that the address had led her to, she noticed how secluded it was. But, she supposed, that was to be expected. Elena took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. There was a good possibility that she was getting ready to meet her mother for the first time. She just knew she was in the right place. The pull to her mother was almost exploding with intensity the closer she had gotten to the house. Now she could feel it even more, she could feel _her. _

She got out of the car and walked up to the door, completely confident, then she knocked. She waited only a few moments before the door slowly opened. As the woman stepped into the door frame, Elena let out a gasp, the woman looked so much like her. She could see the family resembelence in every feature of the woman standing across from her. She could only imagine the look she had on her face, as she looked at her for the first time.

The woman held a suprised expression on her face for all of a minute before a slow, vampiric smile spread across her face. Then she spoke.

"Well hello Elena, I don't believe we have been properly introduced. I'm Katherine."

* * *

**Soooo? Sorry this chapter was short but this is all that I had planned for chapter 3. What did you think of my writing in Damon's P.O.V? I was a little worried writing for him because I really didn't want to do anything. . .un-damon like. (if you know what I mean) Please leave me your thoughts on this chapter and I promise to try to get chapter four up as soon as I can. :) But there won't be any updated tonight for sure because Vampire Diaries will be on...:)**


	4. Chapter 4: Methods of Entertainment

**Thursday's episode of VD was epic. I loved it, but I am truly looking forward to next weeks even more. :) I loved that they included Paramore's song Brick By Boring Brick in the last episode. That has been my favorite song for weeks now so I was very excited to hear it included. Part of this chapter was partially inspired by lyrics from the song (though I did NOT list the lyrics, this is not a songfic) you may not be able to tell which parts, but I thought I would throw that bit of info in here anyway. Hope you like it....**

* * *

Where we left off....

"Well hello Elena, I don't believe we have been properly introduced. I'm Katherine."

Elena slowly bakced away from the door before turning to run. But, she had only just made it off of the porch wen Katherine appeared in front of her.

"Don't you know not to run from vampires, Elena? I thought you would know by now how pointless it is," Katherine said in an inncently evil tone. "Besides, when you run, it only provokes us."

Elena knew her fear was betrayed on her face, but she gathered what courage she could and lifted her head. She was obviously not going to get out of this so the least she could do was act as brave as possible.

"What's the matter Elena? You look so frightend. I'm just trying to help you," Katherine said in a silky voice. "After all, you never know what kind of vampires might be running around. Come on, lets go inside where we can sit down and talk," Katherine smiled.

Elena, knowing she didn't have a choice but to follow, walked back onto the porch and in the front door with Katherine leading the way. Elena walked into a quaint, respectable house of medium size. She thought it seemed a little low scaled for Katherine's standards but, she probably didn't have much of a choice. Katherine motioned for Elena to sit down on a small sofa in the living room and Katherine sat in the chair across from her.

"Why did you leave him?" this was all Elena could think to say. She had to know _why_. Why Katherine had hurt him so much, weather she had a reason, or if it was what she had always suspected. That Katherine was just to self centered to care about anyone else.

Katherine smiled and responded leisurely, "Which _him _might you be talking about?"

This was when Elena noticed that she had not said _them._ She had been thinking about Damon, again. This seemed to be happening to her a lot lately, and now he was even imposing on her attempt to find her mother. But, Katherine really had hurt Damon, more that she ever thought possible for someone as unfeeling as he seemed to be. She looked at Katherine and noticed her waiting patiently for Elena's answer to her question.

"Damon," she replied.

"Ahh. Well, I suppose I left him for the same reason I left all of the others. Boredom. An emotion that becomes quite common for a vampire," was her simple response.

"But, you knew he would be hurt when you left, and still, you didn't even bother to contact him to tell him you were okay. You had to have known that he would be looking for you. He was bound to find out that you were still alive somehow. But, did you even take his feelings into consideration? Even now, I doub't it's a coincidence that you ended up living this close to Damon. There's no way you didn't know where he is," Elena said.

"Of course I know Damon's back in Mystic Falls. Didn't I just explain to you the boredom spells vampires go through? I needed a source of entertainment, so I figured coming back here to watch Damon go through all of this trouble to find me, only to end up heartbroken and depressed, again, sounded like a pretty good idea," Katherine said plainly, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"That's horrible. How could you act like you love him and change him into a vampire even, just for your own amusement?" Elena was really not shocked at all, though, it was exactly as she had guessed.

"Perhaps it is horrible...to a human. Tell me Elena, can you really say that you haven't seen Damon do something purely for the fun of it? Something that most mortals would find repulsive?" at the look that was no doubt betrayed on Elena's face, Katherine nodded. "It's the way of the vampire Elena. Damon understands that. Perhaps you should reconsider your feelings for him..." she trailed off.

Elena thought about what Katherine had said, and realized that none of it mattered. Elena knew that somewhere, maybe it was deep, deep down, but somewhere, Damon had feelings. He had a good heart, and Elena seemed to be the only one able to see that in him.

As Elena sat thinking, Katherine took the oppertunity to continue, "I notice how you have not spoken of Stefan yet. Am I to believe that your feelings for him are no more?"

"Of course not," Elena replied, uncomfortably. "I care for both of them."

Katherine let out a sharp, peeling laugh, "Oh Elena, you are so very much like me, in more ways than our appearence. It is not hard to tell that we are family."

"I am nothing like you," Elena responded, only a little stronger than she felt.

Katherine smiled at Elena, though, it was far from a comforting smile, "Of course you are. You found both of the Salvatore brothers, led them on, played with their emotions, and then left them. Just like me. Of course, the only difference is that you fell in love with them," Katherine said, with a slightly dangerous tone to her voice.

"I never led them on, every moment I have shared with them has been real and I didn't play with their emotions the way that you did. As for leaving them, Stefan and I broke up because there are too many things happening in our lives right now, and I have not been with Damon so it isn't possible for me to have left him," Elena said.

"You know what, Elena. I'm glad you see it that way. I've always found people who have a positive attitude toward things to be refreshing. I suppose that is the reason for my interest in Stefan. I myself, have had a life so full of reality that I find it difficult to be positive about things. But, I suppose that's for the best. It helps me to prepare for things that are coming," Katherine said, in a sort of remeniscent state.

"It's to easy to see the bad things in life. The challenge is in finding the good in the bad," Elena responded.

Katherine pursed her lips and seemed to study Elena intently, "You make a good point. But, let us move on Elena. I know you did not come here to discuss the fact that life is tragic. I assume you are here for your mother, correct?"

Elena just looked at Katherine, captivated by the idea that she might be learning something new about her mother. Katherine took Elena's silence as agreement and went on.

"It's a shame really, I had hoped you would have drug it out a little more before coming here. I suppose I will have to be finding a new source of entertainment now," Katherine said with a sigh.

"So you know where my mother is?" Elena asked.

Katherine smiled, "Of course I do. She's been with me since Damon turned her."

"Where is she?"

Katherine's face began transforming into one of irritation, "You ask to many questions. She is being held nearby, that is all you need concern yourself with."

"Your keeping her here against her will?" Elena questioned, beginning to worry about her chances of getiing out of here.

"Well I couldn't very well let her go free. She might have gone running back to Damon at some point, or she might have found Stefan, and I couldn't have that. After her infatuation with Damon, she's lucky I let her continue existing. I suppose I could have let her be, then killed her when she posed a threat, but it seemed much easier to take care of the probelem before it arose. Wouldn't you agree?" Katherine asked.

Elena was horrified, "What problem? What harm would have been caused in leaving her alone? So what if she had found Damon or Stefan again? Are they not allowed to know other vampires besides you?"

Katherine's face was edging beyond irritated now, "Of course they are. But if she had fallen in love with one of them then I would have had to put up with it for eternity, well, until I killed her, anyway," Katherine said with a wave of her hand. "But then that would have caused which ever one of them she was with to become depressed and I would have had to watch that for who knows how long before the two of them got back on the important subject of their depression. Me. It would have been much more trouble for me."

"Can't you just let them be happy? After everything you have put them through?" Elena asked.

Katherine laughed again, "Of course not. That would not be amusing for me at all. It's probably best that you don't try to understand it. At least, not right now. You will have plenty of time for that later."

Elena knew the fear was, again, apparant on her face as she asked Katherine what she meant.

Katherine looked slightly surprised for the second time this evening. "Now, Elena. You don't really think I can let _you _scurry back to Stefan and Damon, do you? Espically after everything you have learned this evening. That would be very dangerous indeed. Like I said before, I preferr to fix my problems before they arise. Though I did find your presence in their lives to be quite amusing. Your resemblence to me being a constant reminder for them every time they saw you. It was highly entertaining. But, I'm afraid, you know far too much now. You see Elena, you have also been consorting with Damon and Stefan. Did you really believe I wasn't watching? That I would let you get away with it?" Katherine asked, bemused.

Elena could only stare at Katherine in horror while thoughts of all of the things Katherine was probably planning for Elena's torture ran through her mind.

Katherine continued, "That was also the secondary reason for taking your mother away. If I had allowed her to go free, she might have turned you aswell. Then I would have had to put up with you being around them forever. Though, thinking about it, I suppose your death might have served as a painful reminder of my own disappearence from their lives. Hmmmm.....perhaps once I am through with you I will leave you somewhere for them to discover you," Katherine squinted at Elena, she seemed to be thinking very deeply about this new idea. "Well, Elena, you have just inspired me. I do believe I have just found my next method of entertainment.," Katherine smiled evilly.

Elena gasped and her voice came out in hurried, choked, sobs, "Why? I didn't do anything to you. I didn't even know you existed until I was already with Stefan..." her voice trailed off.

Katherine spoke again, though, this time she was not speaking to Elena. In a matter of seconds, two vampires that Elena had never seen before flashed into the room. Now Elena could feel the terror consume her entire being. Katherine stood and walked over to the two of them, speaking in tones too quiet for Elena to hear. Not that she would be able to anyway, her fear had caused a loud ringing in her ears and her whole body had started to tremble slightly. This only worsened when the two strange vampires walked over to each side of Elena and picked her up and began dragging her out of the room.

Elena struggled against her captors as much as she was able, but there was no point, she was not going to get free. Katherine watched Elena being drug away with a nearly blank expression on her face. However, you could see her amusement in the sadistic twist to her mouth. Then, Katherine tilted her head to the side and waved at her before Elena was being drug through a doorway and down a set of stairs. Elena thought she saw the words 'Bye, Elena' escape Katherine's lips before he basement door shut soundly, blocking her from view.

Even though the basement door had been shut, and the room itself was bound to be soundproof, Elena was sure her screams were heard.

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**Ooooh scary :) After the last episode of VD, I became semi-inspired to start writing chapter 4 and this was all I had for this chapter. For those of you who didn't want Katherine to hurt Elena, I didn't technically have **_**Katherine **_**hurt her. That was the best I could do. I mean it is Katherine we're talking about. Anyway, please review and I will try to have chapt. 5 up sometime soon. **


	5. Chapter 5: Pleasant Distraction

**Okay, here is chapter 5. Hope you like it. I am sorry it took me so long to get it up. I have been very busy lately. But I DID write two chapters to make up for it :)**

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Damon's POV

Damon was close to finding Elena. He could feel it. he was also feeling that something was very wrong. He hated caring like this, _feeling _like this, and for a human! She was nothing to him, and yet, she was everything. She was far more than a regular mortal and he knew it.

He was driving as fast as his car would allow him to go, and still it wasn't fast enough. Damon was growing extremely impatient. He needed to find her, he knew she was in some sort of danger, and every minute that went by without him finding her was a minute that could very well be her last.

Damon had been so encompassed in his thoughts of Elena that he almost missed the sound of his phone ringing in the seat beside of him. Damon shook his head at the fact that the mere thought of her could make him so completely unaware of everything else around him. He reached over and glanced at the screen, to see Stefan's name flashing.

With a voice that was the very essence of fake cheerfulness, he answered the phone. "Hello, brother."

"Where's Elena?" Stefan asked, worridly.

"What, no 'hello, Damon. How are you today?' You know, most people might find that a bit rude, Stefan. Perhaps you have been spending too much time around me, your manners are beginning to slip," damon replied, seemingly unworried.

"Just answer me, Damon," Stefan said, irritation at his brother taking away some of the worry.

"You would think you'd get tired of sucking all of the fun out of everything," damon said, musedly. "But, since you asked so nicely, I have no idea where Elena is," he said, though it was only partially true.

Damon decided that if he told Stefan the truth it might cause him to feel the need to run to the rescue. Considering all of the problems that would probably cause Damon, he decided he would casually let today's activities slip to Stefan after he returned to Mystic falls. Besides, if he told im on the phone, he wouldn't be able to see the expression on Stefan's face that Damon had been so vividly imagining in his head.

Stefan let out a frusterated sound into the phone.

"Why are you so worried? If I remember correctly, you tow broke up," Damon said with his usual taunting edge. He knew his brother's feeling's for Elena had not disappeared.

"She isn't anywhere in town, and i have been looking for her all day."

"I would think you would have much better things to do than search the town over for Elena. Don't you have some squirrels and bunnies to drain dry? You really shouldn't go without feeding for too long Stefan. If your not careful, the wildlife might begin to build back up. Which would be a shame, considering all the work you have done to help that whold, overpopulation issue," Damon said, smirking.

"Actually, that might not be such a bad idea. Your right, maybe i'm just overreacting. I'm sure Elena's fine, wherever she is. Maybe I'm just a little low on blood," Stefan responded.

"You know, if you really wanted to build your strength back up, I'm sure one of the wonderful townspeople would love to help you out," Damon commented.

"Goodbye Damon," Stefan replied, exasperated.

"Give my condolences to Bambi," Damon said before hanging up.

Without the distraction of Stefan, Damon's mind refocused on Elena, He was so close to finding her, he could feel it. He just hoped he got to her soon.

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Elena's POV

Elena was only partially conscious as she lay in a crumbled heap in the corner of the cell her tourters had thrown her into. She couldn't even think about all of the horrid tings she had experienced in the last couple of hours. She was managing to completely block out everything that was going on around her, everything that had happend since she arrived at this terrible place. She had been using thoughts of Damon as a pleasant distraction from her situation. She had realized that it had been a very bad idea to go on this trip by herself. She hadn't thougt about bringing Damon alng, that is, until she was being hauled through the basement door. Now, she as regretting not telling Damon more about her location. Not that doing so would necessarily ake a difference.

Elena was vaguely aware of the way she didn't bother thinking about what would have happend if she had told Stefan. If she had still been with him, he would have told her not to go at all, that it was too dangerous. Elena loved Stefan, but she had never been able to make her own choices when she was with him. He had always treated her as if she were a child and she hated it. Damon, on the other hand, would have never prohibited her from going. He might have gone with her, even if it were only for the reason of getting out of Mystic Falls. Sure, Damon might have told her that it was dangerous and that she really shouldn't do it, but he wouldn't have acted like she wasn't _able _to do it, like Stefan would have.

Elena's thoughts of Damon had managed to pull her completely out of the reality she was stuck in, so she barely had a chance to hear the footsteps coming down the basement steps, and the light murmuring outside of her cell door before someone walked in. Suddenly, there was someone crouching down infront of Elena's broken figure. She opened her eyes halfway and peered up at the person staring at her to find the cleaner, less injured, mirrored version of herself. Elena let out a sharp breath, but made no other indication of Katherine's presence.

"You know Elena, your quite strong, mentally anyway, for a human. Most mortals probably would have gone insane by now. Either driven mad by the pain or by the events that caused them one," Katherine said musedly as her eyes gazed over Elena's body. "Though, I suppose, you have me to thank for that. You are, after all, of my family. It is only natural that you would have the strength of will to endure this amount of pain."

When Elena didn't respond, Katherine laughed lightly and continued speaking. "I have always been a sort of...compasionate person. I also find it slightly disappointing that, considering your impending death, you won't get to witness the wonderful revolution that is about to take place in Mystic Falls. So, I figured I would tell you about it, considering that I can't tell your mother about it, since she is currently being deprived of blood, therefore she would not enjoy it quite as much as you probably will. Plus, it would really be a shame to let such a story go to waste. Wouldn't you agree, Elena?" Katherine asked with a sadistic twist to her mouth.

Katherine stood up, grabbed a chair from the corner of the cell, and sat down in front of Elena. She tilted her head to the side as she stared down at Elena. "I take it your not speaking to me then? Well, it's far better than the twenty questions I was getting before," Katherine said, smiling. "So, let's start with a recap of what you already know. All of the vampires from 1864 have been released from the tomb thanks to, of course, Damon's undying obsession with me. I'm sure you're also aware of the little war party most of them have formed. Their leader, of course, my best friend Pearl. You see, Elena, it has all been a part of my grand plan. I knew Anna would not be able to resist going after her mother, just like I knew that Damon would not ba able to resist trying to find me. The spell that I had Emily set, once the seal had been broken, there was no way to seal the tomb back up. Of course, your little friend Bonnie and her grandmother had no way of knowing that. Then, when Pearl was free, I contacted her about my idea for taking back Mystic Falls. She agreed, obviously, and enlisted the help of the other vampires that had escaped the tomb as well as Damon's. Though, as I understand it, he had to be somewhat forced. Thats a shame really, I had hoped he would have gotten over his disappointment at not finding me in the tomb. Not that it matters, he will help us until we have no further use for him, then he will be disposed of. Any-," Katherine was interrupted by Elena, who had finally decided to interrupt.

"You're going to kill Damon? After everything he has done for you, everything you meant to him?," Elena could not believe how surprised she was at this considering all that Katherine had done to her since she had arrived.

Katherine looked somewhat irrated at the interruption, but she answered anyway. "Of course. You don't think I could really allow him to wander around town after we take back Mystic Falls, do you? Damon is very cunning and, knowing him, he would find a way to completely destroy everything we had accomplished. Purely out of anger at me for not telling him I was alive. He has always been one for revenge," Katherine explained.

"Wonder where he gets that from," Elena mumbled before she could stop herself.

Katherine's head snapped down to Elena, and her comment earned her a swift kick to her already injured ribs. Elena grimaced and let out a sharp hiss of pain. Katherine smiled down at her and responded to her comment as if she were a mother, correcting her disobedient child.

"Now Elena, that is not a very nice way to speak to your hostess. Especially after I have put up with your many interruptions and questioning since you arrived," Katherine looked down at Elena for a moment before continuing. "Now, where was I, before I was so rudely interrupted? Ah, yes, Damon will be disposed of, and to keep me from becoming too lonely, I plan to enlist the help of another. Stefan, of course, has always been a very loyal and gentlemanly young man. It didn't take too much to persuade him to follow me before, I'm sure this time will be no different. Also, he has never had the cleverness his brother has, so he should be easy enough to control. Espically once I have him back to drinking human blood."

Elena bit her lip to keep from commenting again. She didn't think she would be able to handle many more injuries.

"Anyway, back to my story. Once Pearl gains the truse of Mayor Lockwoodand the rest of the town's authority figures, it should be easy to compel them, after Damon stops supplying them with vervain, of course. After that, we will finally have our town back, and the order will be restored," Katherine finished with a proud look on her face. "The only thing I regret, is that you won't be there to witness the downfall of you're precious townspeople."

Katherine stood up and returned the chair to the corner of the room before turning back to Elena who was holding her side and grimicing slightly from where she had been kicked just moments ago.

"Don't worry about the pain swettie," Kathrine said in a very unsympathetic voice as she leaned down to Elena's level. "You won't be alive to feel it much longer anyway. I'm sure someone in town has noticed your absence, and I can't have people coming to your rescue before I have a chance to kill you," Katherine finished as she reached down and touched Elena's cheek lightly.

Elena must have been driven crazy by the pain, or perhaps she had let her anger at Katherine build up too far. She grabbed Katherine's arm as it touched her face, and using what strength she had left, she bit into Katherine's wrist and tore off a small piece of her skin. Katherine was so shocked that Elena had been able to do such a thing to her, in the state that she was in, that it took her a moment to realize what was going on.

Katherine let out a small screach of pain and pulled her wrist from Elena's mouth and grabbed the hand that was holding her and squeezed it. Elena gave a shrill scream as she felt the bones in her left hand shatter under the pressure of Katherine's strength. Katherine let go and walked over to the door. She turned back to Elena momentarily and spoke with a voice laced in venom, "Don't mess with me little girl. I am centuries older than you and I won't hesitate to end your life sooner than necissary. I could have given you a quick and merciful death, but you ruined that option. You just thought you were in pain before."

With that, Katherine stepped out of the cell and closed the door behind her. Elena heard murmuring outside again, but it only lasted a moment before her cell door reopened and her torturers entered the room. Elena squeezed her eyes shut and forced her mind to take her away from this awful place. Away from this horrid situation she had gotten herself into. She let her mind take her to the only place where she felt truly happy. In her mind, she was with Damon.

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**Review Please! **


	6. Chapter 6: Dark Knight

**Here is chapter 6...enjoy!**

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Damon's POV

As Damon arrived at the long driveway that led to the address he had been searching for, he parked his car behind some trees beside of it. He grabbed a stake out of the passenger seat and slipped it into the waist of his pants, under his shirt. He wanted to be prepared for whatever might happen. He figured there was a good chance there were vampires close by and he didn't want to be heard until he found out where Elena was.

He ran to the end of the driveway through the cover of the trees, and came to the edge of a clearing with a house sitting in the middle of it. The house was middle class and respectable, but the feeling it gave off was anything but comforting.

Damon used his sensitive hearing to listen for anyone inside or around the house. He could hear a murmuring in the living room and it seemed to be a woman speaking, but he was still too far away to understand what she was saying. When he couldn't detect any one else around the house, he moved closer to the house. He stopped just below a window that was close to the voice he was hearing. He listened again and he found out he could understand the voice perfectly now. The sound of the voice sent a thousand memories rushing through his mind at once. He knew that voice as good as he knew his own, and the sound of it was enough to scare even Damon. Weeks ago, Damon would have done anything to hear that voice again. It was the voice of the one and only, Katherine Pierce.

Damon looked at the house surrounding him and noticed a set of stairs that led to what he assumed was the basement. With another glance around him to make sure no one was aware of his presence, he descended the stairs quickly and quietly. When he reached the bottom he noticed that the door leading inside had been left open. He figured this meant Katherine definately had other little minions running around helping her. She was far too cautious to leave a door unlocked, or without a guard, for that matter.

He opened the door and stepped inside to find a small hallway leading in many different directions. He stood still and opened his senses to the area around him. At first, he didn't think there was anything to hear, but when he listened really carefully he could hear a small sound coming from the right corner of the basement. Damon stood still, trying to distinguish the sound, and it suddenly came to him. It was screaming. It was very quiet so it had to be coming from a soundproof room, but the sound of it made the already cold blood running through Damon to freeze to ice. It was Elena.

With a speed that rivaled any vampire he had ever met, even Katherine herself, he followed out the hallway to the right and came to a door with a guard in front of it. The guard was, of course a vampire, but it his rage, Damon managed to shove the stake in the other vampire's heart before he had a chance to alert anyone to Damon's presence. Damon reached for the door, eager to run inside and slaughter the vampires that were harming his Elena. But, his instinct made him stop for a moment and listen to the people inside of the room. Mostly, he heard the screaming that was coming from Elena, a sound he was sure would never be erased from his mind, even if he lived for all eternity. But when he listened harder he could sense what seemed to be two other vampires inside of the room.

With this information, Damon unlocked and opened the door to the cell containing his beautiful Elena. He supposed that his anger was what helped him destroy the two vampires so quickly. They were bother bigger than Damon was, but they were also younger, and very untrained. He supposed Katherine kept them around for tourturing purposes more than anything else. He went for the one that seemed to be causing the most harm to Elena first. Damon slipped his hands around the man's head and twisted it to an unnatural angle until he heard a satisfying crack. This stunned him long enough for him to plunge the stake into the heart of the other vampire, who didn't have a chance to scream before his eyes dulled and he fell to the ground.

The vampire whose neck he had broken was lying on the ground as well, recovering quickly. Damon flipped the man over and shoved the stake into the man's heart without a thought, then stood up to check on Elena.

Elena was lying on the floor with her eyes squeezed shut. Damon dropped to his knees and let the stake fall to his side at the sight of her. She was broken and bloody and there were tears streaming down her face. The sight of her made Damon's eyes fill with moisture. He should have gotten here sooner. He should have found out what she was up to before she had a chance to leave Mystic Falls. He couldn't believe he had let her get into this kind of danger.

Damon carefully reached out to touch Elena's face, not wanting to frighten or harm her any more. As his fingers made contact with her skin, she jerked and squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. Damon noticed her lips moving and he leaned down to her level on the floor so that he could hear what she was saying. He couldn't make it out at first, but when he realized what she was saying he let out a slight gasp. She was saying his name. Over and over again.

Damon knew he needed to get her out of this place before anyone came down here and realized something was wrong. So as not to frighten her again, he decided to speak.

"Elena," this was all he managed to get out before his throat closed up. He could hear the emotion in his voice and it shocked him. Emotion was something Damon thought he would never express again, and all it took was this beautiful girl infront of him, to have him almost in tears.

Damon noticed Elena's eyes flicker slightly and her words stumbled slightly before she opened her eyes completely. She gasped as she peered up at his face and he saw fresh tears fall from her eyes.

"Damon," she said as if she really couldn't believe he was there.

Damon managed to clear his throat and speak, though not without a slight break to his voice. "It's me Elena. I'm here," he said, soothingly, reaching out warily to touch her again. "Now, we could sit here nd argue about weather you can walk by yourself or not, but we both know it would be quicker and easier if I just carry you out. So how about we skip the artument and get to the part where I win?" Damon said.

When he saw Ellena's head give a quick nod, he moved his arms so that one was circled under her knees and the other was behind her back.

"There's really no way around this, Elena. I don't want to hurt you, but we have to get you out of here, and you are too...broken," Damon's voce broke slightly on the last word, "for this to be painless."

Elena nodded her head again weakly and took a deep breath.

"Just do it, Damon," she said with as much strength as she was capable of.

Damon looked at her for a moment, mesmerized by her. Then he nodded his head slowly once, and was getting ready to lift her when a voice spoke behind him.

"Damon, how lovely to see you again," Katherine spoke in her sweetly evil voice. "I see you have become quite the knight in shining armor since we last met. That's really a shame, I had hoped I was the only one you came to the rescue for."

Damon stood quickly and spun around to face Katherine, leaving Elena on the floor behind him where she would be safe.

"You were never one to need rescuing, Katherine. Even when you did, you never let anyone help you. But, my days of searching to find you ended with the tomb," Damon replied, coldly.

"Well that's disappointing. I was rather hoping for some begging and groveling, maybe even a tear. But, I suppose that would be ridiculous, coming from you. I suppose that's one of the reasons I took such an interest in you all those years ago. You always seemed to do things by your own set of rules," Katherine said, thoughtfully.

"Why did you do this to Elena?" Damon asked. That was the only thing he cared about now, Elena. His feelings for Katherine had disappeared the moment he met Elena, he just didn't realize it until now. He had been so focused on getting Katherine back for so long that it had become a major part of his life, so he didn't even notice when his motivation for finding her disappeared with the entrance of the flawless and beautiful Elena.

Katherine laughed lightly, "Can't you guess Damon? I'm sure you probably already know the reason and really, I don't feel like repeating the story again. It doesn't matter anyway, the both of you will be dead in a few minutes."

"Seeing you now, I find it incredibly hard to believe that I ever thought I was in love with you," Damon said honestly.

"Come on Damon, now you're just lying to yourself. Of course you were in love with me. Everyone was, most still are, in fact."

"No. I thought I loved you, but I never really did. I loved the danger and the mystery you presented. But I never actually loved you. Somewhere inside of me, from the moment I met you, I knew you were just a spoiled, sadistic, little girl, who enjoyed the attention she got from others when she acted the way she did. Then, when I saw the way everyone adored you, I wanted to be just like you. I spent so many years being ignored by everyone, including my father. They all preferred Stefan. Everything was about him," Damon said, and he realized that Elena was still listening. He had to let Elena know that everything was going to be okay. That he felt nothing for Katherine anymore, the only feelings he had were for her. "Of course, after you disappeared, the whole, sadistic, brooding, mean, vampire thing was easy to pull off. I was so mad at you, when I found out you weren't in the tomb. I still am, actually. I always thought you would be the only one who wouldn't abandon me, the only one who wouldn't prefer my brother over me. But I was wrong. You would think I would have realized that when I was having to share you with him. But I was blind"

Katherine just stood there for a moment, as if she were shocked that Damon had actually just spoke to her that way. Then, she walked up to Damon and slapped him across the face. Damon would be lying if he said it hadn't hurt. Katherine was much older and much stronger than he was.

"How dare you say such things to me! Are you not greatful for the life I gave you. I made you what you are, Damon. If it weren't for me, you would be rotting away in you're family's tomb right now. You should be greatful," it may have been Damon's imagination, but he thought Katherine had started to sound a bit desperate at the end. As if she really did want him to think her for all the things she had done to him. "So, what? Now are you going to tell me you have fallen in love with this...this...human?" Katherine asked, pointing to Elena.

"Yes," Damon replied, simply. "Though, I don't actually care weather or not you believe it. She is everything to me, everything that you never were, or could ever hope to be. She is the most amazing person I have ever met, in all my years walking this Earth. The fact that she is human...is irrevelent. She is more amazing than any mortal or immortal being and I would suppose that is at least part of the reason you tortured her. You are so used to being the one everyone loves that when she came along, you noticed that she was better than you. Who couldn't notice that? She means more to me than you ever did, and I love her more than I ever even thought I loved you," Damon admitted. As he said it, he realized that every word of it was true, he _loved _Elena. This beautiful girl who had altered his life so completely.

Katherine seemed to be at a complete loss of words, but then she regained her posture and spoke. "You always were so much more disobedient than you're brother. It's really a shame I won't have the chance to show you all I plan to do with you're precious Mystic Falls. But, I'm sure that killing the two of you, would further my greater agenda, so I think I'm just going to go with that plan," as Katherine spoke she began moving slowly toward Damon and Elena. "You see, when I kill the two of you, I plan to leave Elena's body somewhere for one of the townspeople to stumble upon, then when people notice you're missing, they will assume you're dead as well. This should work well to shake up the authorities enough that they decide to lean on the vampires for support. Of course, none of them will actually know that they are vampires, but they will be much too confused to realize what has happend before we have complete control of Mystic Falls. Good plan. Don't you agree?"

Damon didn't take his eye's off of Katherine as she stalked toward him. "I'm not going to let you hurt her again, Katherine," Damon said with a world of threat in his voice. Then he lunged at her.

She didn't expect him to come at her quite so fast, so when he hit her, she flew into the wall. Katherine, recovered quickly and ran toward damon and wrapped her hand around his throat, slamming him to the floor. Damon made a few faint choking noises while he tried to pry Katherine's hand from his neck.

This was it. There was no way Damon was going to beat Katherine. She was too strong, even for him. The most he could hope for, was that Elena would somehow be able to get free. But, he knew that was a fantasy too.

All of a sudden, Katherines grip loosened from around his neck, and her eyes went dull. She fell down on top of Damon, and as she fell, one word escaped her lips, "No." Damon was faintly aware of something else falling down beside of him. He quickly pushed Katherine off of him, on the opposite side of whatever had fallen. When Damon saw what it was, he immediatly sat up. It was Elena.

Elena had somehow managed to crawl over to where Katherine and Damon had been struggling on the floor, bringing with her the stake Damon had let drop beside of her earlier. Elena had saved his life, and her's too. But, now she looked even weaker than before.

"We have to get out of here, Elena. I told you before that this was going to hurt, but I will be as gentle as I can," Damon spoke as he wrapped his arms back around her knees and back. He waited until Elena nodded, then he stood quickly with her in his arms. As he predicted, she screamed in pain from being moved so much. Damon grimiced at the sound of her pain and the look on her face. He had to get her to safety first, then he could worry about her injuries. He had no doubt Katherine had other minions running around here somewhere. He looked down at Katherine briefly and decided that it was too much trouble to hide her body, the only people that might discover her were vampires themselves.

Damon ran out of the cell and back through the basement, across the clearing, and to his car. When he reached it, he set Elena gently in the passenger seat and her face grimaced slightly with pain. Before he could shut the door, she spoke.

"My mother. We have to get her out. I didn't get tortured by a room full of vampires for nothing," Elena said. Then she actually attempted to move her legs as if she were going to get back out of the car. Damon couldn't believe this! She had just been tortured in who knows how many creative ways, and here she was, getting ready to try to go back into the horror house to save her mother! Damon just shook his head in disbelief.

"No, Elena. You're hurt. Going back in there would only put you in more danger. I will go get her out," Damon said before she could protest.

He reached into the backseat and found a stake then handed it to Elena. He locked all of the doors to the car and told her not to let anyone inside unless it was him.

Damon ran back into the basement and, after some searching, found the only room that could have contained Elena's mother. He got the door open and walked into the room. He saw her then, laying in the corner of the room, completely still. Katherine had deprived her of blood, she was a living corpse. Damon had no choice but to pick her up and carry her back to the car. He didn't have the blood to help her recover from her corpse state, and even if he did, she would not have the strength to walk out of here quick enough.

Damon raced Isobel back to his car, and slid her into the backseat. He then got into the driver's seat and looked over at Elena. She was just barely conscious, and so he reached over and placed a hand on the side of her face and spoke softly.

"Thank you, my beautiful Elena. Sleep now, you're safe with me," Damon spoke in a tone so gentle, it would have shocked him weeks ago. But now, it seemed completely natural. All of it.

Damon caught two peaceful words leave her lips before she drifted into unconsciousness..."I know."

Damon smiled. Not a smirk, just a smile. A smile of true and genuine affection and....love. He started the car and pulled out onto the main road. He needed to get Elena and her mother to some sort of medical care. Now. A thought came to mind as Damon was wondering where to take a living corpse and a tortured human for first aid. He knew a doctor not far from here that specalized in supernatural injuries. He would take them there.

* * *

**Review!!!! Please? As far as the title for this chapter goes. I believe one of my loyal reviewers mentioned this when speaking of Damon. I really thought it fit this chapter, I hope you don't mind that I used it! Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious, This Is NOT The Last Chapter! I don't know how many more there will be, but this is not the last one.**


	7. Chapter 7: For The Love Of Blood

**Im sorry! I know it has been far too long since I updated this story. I have been really busy. But here is the final chapter. Hope you like it.**

Elena's POV

Elena woke up inside a dimly lit room, lying on an unfirmiliar bed. The last thing she remembered was...Damon! He had come to rescue her. All of the memories of what had happend came rushing back to her all of a sudden. Had Damon actually said he loved her? Elena's heart beat slightly faster at the thought. No. That's not possible. Elena assumed she must have been so out of it from the pain that she must have imagined some of the things that had happend.

Elena looked down at her body to see it bandaged in a couple places. This was a bit odd, she realized. She knew she had more injuries than what she saw. But she couldn't feel them anymore. She knew her left leg had been broken, and the bones in her wrist and hand completely shatterd. But she couldn't feel any of these injuries. Or see any sign that they had ever existed. Really, the only bandages she found were one on her side and one on her shoulder.

She tried to sit up, thinking it wouldn't be too difficult to do, considering how good she felt. Suddently there were two hands pushing her back down onto the bed, carefully avoiding the bandage on her shoulder. She looked up in faint surprise and noticed Damon's ice blue eyes staring at her.

"Don't try to sit up, Elena. I know you feel better but you are still too weak to stand," Damon explained. He looked at her with a slightly worried look in his eyes and he sat down on the edge of the bed, beside Elena. He lifted his hand to Elena's face and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His hand touched her face slightly in the process and she could feel herself stop breathing. Damon noticed and he smirked slightly in response.

"Where are we, Damon?" Elena asked, once she was able to breathe again.

"We're still in Atlanta. You were in such bad shape when we left...I didn't trust taking you to a human doctor. They would have wanted to know why you were hurt, and also, you obviously healed faster this way. I knew a doctor that wasn't too far away who specialized in supernatural injuries," Damon answered. Elena nodded her head, she really was feeling a lot better than she had been.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere are you?" Elena asked, though he seemed fine.

Damon seemed to be considering her question, "Hmmm. If I told you yes, would you kiss me?"

Elena was sure her face showed her confuesed emtion. "Why would I kiss you for telling me you were hurt?"

"To make me feel better, of course," Damon said, as if it were the most obvious answer.

"You make it sound like a kiss is some sort of all-healing magical medicine."

"Well, not all kisses, of course. But I'm sure that a kiss from you would be very magical," Damon responded with a smirk on his face.

"Ahh, well with such sweet words as that, how could I not kiss you?" Elena said, sarcastically.

"Now, is that any way to treat the person who came to your rescue?"

"Oh, so now you're going to try to guilt me into kissing you?"

Damon sighed. "Well, it was worth a try. You truly are the most stubborn person I have ever met," Damon said with a small smile on his face. Elena smiled slightly in return, becoming lost in the swirl of his blue eyes.

"How did I heal so fast?" Elana said, changing the subject before she completely lost her train of thought.

"Well, the doctor is a witch. Or, well, technically he is a man, so I suppose the term 'male witch' would be less offensive," Damon explained, with sarcasm in his voice. "So he performed his magical voo doo and what not," Damon represented his words by waving his left hand while wearing an unimpressed expression on his face, "then you were healed."

"Hm, well I am grateful for his 'magical voo doo and what not'. I was beginning to worry about my chances of survival," Elena said.

"So was I," Damon said, almost too quietly to hear. "I was going to give you some of my blood, to help heal you. But, I wasn't sure how you would feel about that and if something had happend...you would have become a vampire."

Elena nodded. "I understand," Elena said. Suddenly a thought came to mind, "Isobel! Is she okay? Did you get her out?"

"Yes," Damon answered. "She is here, she's being cared for as we speak. Honestly, Elena, I can't believe you did all of this to find her. You nearly got yourself killed," Damon's voice held a barely noticable edge at the end of his sentence.

"I had to find her. I just knew she was in trouble, and I was right. I need to see her, where is she?" Elena asked while trying to throw her feet off of the bed.

"She's fine. Would you stop trying to get up?" Damon responded while pushing her back onto the bed. "Katherine had been depriving her of blood. So she wasn't really in the best shape. But she will recover soon enough. Unfortunately, we need to get you home, and she won't be well enough to leave by then. So we will have to come back for her in a few days." Damon saw that Elena was preparing to object and he placed a finger over her lips. "Elena, we don't have another option. You need to get home because i'm sure people have begun to notice your absence by now and, unfortunately, I cannot compel the entire town and getting you home would be much easier than telling them all that you were in Atlanta, saving your vampire birth mother from another vampire who tortured you for her own sadistic advances. Your mother will be safe here for a few days while she heals."

Elena tried to think of a reason to object but came up with nothing. "Fine," she said reluctantly.

Damon smiled and stood up, looking down at her."I think it's really best, for both of us, if I just carry you out to the car," Damon said reaching down to curl his arms around her small body. Elena rolled her eyes but otherwise did not protest.

The ride back to Mystic Falls was mostly silent except for a few comments back and forth between the two of them. Elena had told Damon the things that Katherine had told her. Damon had said for her not to worry about it, Katherine was dead now and, without her to lead them, the rest of the rebelling vampires would be pretty much hopeless. But even as he said this, Elena noticed a slight tightening of his eyes, and she knew that he was just as worried about it as she was.

They had just driven into town when Elena turned to Damon with a look of determination on her face. "Did you mean it?" she asked him.

Damon glanced at her for a moment before returning his eyes to the road. "Did I mean what?"

"What you told Katherine. When you said you...loved me," Elena answered, her voice almost hesitant.

Damon looked over to her, this time for a slightly longer measure of time. Then he pulled off of the road and put the car in park. He shut off the engine and turned his gaze back onto Elena.

"Elena," he began, looking into her eyes with a mixture emotion displayed across his face. "I meant every word of what I said to Katherine. I though I had quit feeling things for other people a long time ago. That is, until I met you. That first day when you walked into the house, I started to change. I didn't notice it at first, and then when I did, I tried everything I could to ignore it. I mean the thought that after over a century I had begun to feel things again for someone other than myself, was completely insane. But it happend. I love you, Elena. I am only sorry that it took me this long to realize it."

Elena stared at him in shock for a few moments, trying to read the emotions she saw on his face. But she couldn't read them as well as she hoped. The one she could pick out though, was worry. _Why would he be worried? _she thought. Then she realized that he was worried because he wasn't sure what her response was to his words.

"I love you too, Damon. I don't understand it exactly...but I do. I have for a long time. It's so different from anyone else I have been with, it's like I was meant to fall in love with you, and I think that's what scared me. That constant pull in my mind, the one that always led me straight to you. I didn't understand it, so I refused to admit it to myself, but...I love you," Elena said, wonderingly.

A new emotion washed across Damon's face, which was still very odd, coming from someone whose face usually gave away absolutely nothing. This new emotion was relief.

Damon stared down at Elena, both of them aware of the pure love surrounding them both. "Elena," Damon said, but his voice came out a bit choked. Elena seemed to figure out the best comprimise and leaned down and brushed her lips against his. Damon was still with surprise for a moment before leaning forward and pressing his lips more firmly against hers. Elena was the first to break away, though she didn't move away from him completely, only leaned her forehead against his.

"That was...," Damon began, but seemed at a loss for words.

"Passionate," Elena finished for him. Remembering the night that seemed so long ago when she and Stefan had stood talking about her previous relationship with Matt. She had been the one at a loss for words then in describing her relationship with the other boy. While she and Matt's relationship had not been passionate, she and Stefan's hadn't really been either, she realized. But with Damon, all it took was a simple kiss. A kiss that had meant more to her than any other she had experienced in her life.

"Passionate," Damon agreed, leaning down to capture her lips with his again.

Just as his lips brushed hers his head snapped back up to look out of the window and into the small path leading into the woods right beside the car. Elena turned her head aswell, worried of the possible danger they might be in. What they saw, however, was more shocking than anything they could have imagined.

"But-it was-and they," Elena stumbled over words quietly, in an attempt to form an explination for what they were seeing.

"I know," Damon responded, just as quietly.

The sight before them could not be possible. A small distance into the woods, only slightly concealed by the trees, were three figures. Katherine stood, arms crossed over her cheast, staring down at the other two with a wicked glint in her eye. _How can she still be alive?_ Elena wondered, desperate for an explination. Then she found one. Looking at Katherine, she noticed the sun glinting off of an all to familiar object on Katherine's finger. A ring. One exactly like Alaric Saltzman wore on his hand. So, that was how she had came back from the dead. But still, what was even more shocking was the sight on the ground. Katherine was watching a vampire feed off of a young girl from town. Elena had noticed the young girl from time to time, walking through the school hallway like any other teenager, from what she knew this girl was kind to everyone and she felt terrible thinking of the fact that this poor girl's life was about to be ended by the sadistic vampire looming over her, Elena thought, absently. Just then the vampire lifted his head from the girl's neck, apparently having had his fill of blood. Elena gazed at the vampires face, completely unconcealed by the tree branches surrounding him. A single tear fell down Elena's cheek before she wiped it away.

The vampire was Stefan. Katherine had been able to do it. She had been able to get Stefan to side with her, Elena couldnt believe this was happening.

Suddenly, Damon had started the car and they were racing through town at speeds that Elena did not even want to contemplate. In no time, they had reached her house. Damon followed Elena up to her bedroom silently, carrying her bags. Apparently no one was home, or at least if they were, Elena couldn't hear them.

When they reached her room Elena turned around to face Damon who had set her things on her bed. Damon tilted his head to the side with a slight look of sympathy and anger on his face. He opened his arms to Elena and she stepped into them. Loving the comfort and safety she felt as his arms wrapped around her fragile body.

"How could Stefan do that, Damon?" Elena asked, helplessly.

"I really don't know."

"I'm sorry I killed Katherine," Elena said, suddenly. "I know how much you cared about her, I just didn't know what else to do, and I couldn't let her hurt you and-"

"Elena, calm down," Damon said soothingly, running his hand down the back of her hair. "Shhh, Elena. I'm not mad. I'm not even upset. I'm glad she's dead. The things Kathrine did...it was all for the challenge of it. For the love of blood, for the disaster and chaos she caused. After everything she did to you, she got a much quicker death than she deserved. Did you not hear me when I was talking to her? I thought you were awake. I never loved Katherine. She means nothing to me. I love you. Only you."

Elena looked up to him with a slight smile on her face. One mixed with noth happiness and worry.

"It's going to be okay. I promise. I won't let her hurt you again. Ever. I'm so sorry she was able to get to you the first time."

"It isn't your fault. I should have told you where I was going. It was stupid of me to take off like that without telling anyone," Elena said.

Damon could hardly argue that point. She _should _have told him where she was going. "Just don't scare me like that again, Elena," he said, tightening his arms around her.

"So," Damon said, changing the subject to less depressing matters. "Technically, I saved your life. I do believe you owe me for that, dearest Elena."

"Well, if I remember correctly, I was the one who kept Katherine from killing you and I both back there. So I believe it is _you _that owes _me." _

"Hmm. So I saved your life and you saved my life, it seemes we have reached a bit of a disagreement, Elena," Damon said, leaning down so that his face was only inches away from hers.

"It seems we have," she replied, moving her face slightly closer to Damon's as she spoke.

"How will we ever solve this problem?" Damon asked, his lips just barely brushing Elena's as he spoke.

Without answering, Elena pressed her lips to his once more, for only a few moments before pulling away.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Damon asked, laughing softly before kissing her again.

Damon was the first to pull away this time. "Thank you for saving me, Elena"

"And thank you Damon, for saving me," as she said it, Elena knew she did not just mean when he saved her from katherine.

Elena wasn't sure how she was going to deal with everything that was happening right now, but at least she knew that she wouldn't have to do it alone. She would have Damon right beside of her. Her beautiful dark knight. Things had certianly changed a lot in the last few days but, she supossed that was what happend, when in the world of blood and vampires.

**Okay, so I am just slightly disappointed with this chapter. I have rewritten it several times but i'm just not sure if I like it or not. I think I wrote D&E a bit to OOC for my taste. But im not sure. It could just be me. Tell me what you think, please? This is the last chapter in this story. But I am thinking of doing a sequal. So if you want a sequal, please let me know. If you want me to write a second one, please give me some ideas. I have some thoughts about what I want to happen but I could seriously use some opinions :) **


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